Electricity rates to stay stable over next 4 years

Liberals say hikes will be held to inflation rate, prices will be lower than predicted

Ontario electricity rate hikes will be held to the rate of inflation over the next four years, according to the province’s latest Long-Term Energy Plan.

In the first energy blueprint since 2013, the Liberal government said prices will actually be lower than forecast four years ago, thanks to the 25-per-cent rebate known as the Fair Hydro Plan, which took effect this past summer.

The average monthly residential bill this year is $127, down from $170 predicted in the last Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP).

In 2027, that monthly bill is anticipated to be $181, lower than the $200 estimate from the 2013 plan. By 2035, it should be $193 a month.

“The projected residential price for electricity will remain below the outlooks in the 2010 and 2013 LTEP,” the government said in the155-page outlook. “Projected electricity prices for large consumers will, on average, be in line with inflation over the forecast period,” it said.

Between 2021 and 2027, rates are expected to rise gradually, by an average of 5 per cent annually.

“The 2017 Long-Term Energy Plan outlines our investments to date and how we plan to continue building an energy system with fairness and choice for people across the province,” Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault said Thursday.

Facing widespread outcry over rising hydro prices, and with an election set for June 7, 2018, the government launched the so-called Fair Hydro Plan earlier this year. Thibeault said it spreads the costs of $70 billion in electricity infrastructure improvements from the past decade over a lengthier repayment period.